I am happy with my 30 year old Rockwell and my much newer Delta. I see a lot of Deltas for sale on Craigslist here.

11-28-2011, 09:55 PM

gregstahlman

Re: Table saw recommendations

i did alot of research before i bought the delta. came across sooo many bad reviews. things such as parts missing, table wing extension didnt line up or had a cup to them. in all honesty i assembled the saw myself and am very pleased with how it works. only thing i dont like is that i had some complications getting a throat plate for a dado head. they sent me the wrong part twice. saw is pricey but worth it. for years i wanted a saw with a big extionship to make working plywood easier.
so awesome having a sawdust collection built in also

11-29-2011, 07:49 AM

Daniel Y

Re: Table saw recommendations

Quote:

Originally Posted by pascopol

Very nice saw indeed, if you get one like this pay attention to:

Pascopol, Nice job of pointing out some of the details of how the table saw selection can be complicated. This saw is not really something the casual user would want to look at. Sadly the alternatives have some serious shortcomings for the most part. I realize my preferences are skewed toward the better quality 220 requirement and higher price being justified. For many that simply is not going to be true. they want a good $400 machine. They are hard to find.
Thanks for taking the time to lay out a little more of the issues in the maze.

11-29-2011, 07:57 AM

jim lyon

Re: Table saw recommendations

I was actually thinking of spending more like $1000. The Grizzly kind of got my attention......that is until Tom and Greg got me thinking Delta. Wow Greg you guys really went high end, not sure I can quite justify that unless I find a buy on a used one. Have to do some more research on dealers and freight costs. thanks all for the input.

11-29-2011, 08:55 AM

Barry

Re: Table saw recommendations

Jim, will this be used for making woodenware? If so, The Grizzly is simply overkill. You're not making fine furniture here. Unless you're planning to go into production as a business, you will be hard pressed to out use a Rockwell/Delta contractor saw, at least the older ones. Contractors use their saws day in and day out.

11-29-2011, 09:35 AM

Mr. C

Re: Table saw recommendations

It's by no means the best saw out there, but for convenience and ease of storage I've been using a Rigid from home depot. http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...atalogId=10053
It has done the trick for me so far. I've been remodeling the house and adding an addition and it has held up well to all of that and the mobility has been a Godsend. All the parts I use pretty much store on the cart so I'm less prone to lose things when I'm moving around. I started building some boxes and frames on it recently and it has done alright at that as well. My only beef so far has been that it has a composit top, which though it works well and is obviously lighter I can't use my magnetic stops on. Some day I plan to get a floor model for the shop in the barn, but really I haven't been able to justify the expense because the cheaper one has done all I've asked. I will note that blade change is a snap, but it just barely will hold a 3/4inch Dado on the arbor. Of course going larger than that would probably overwork the saw. I also have a nice dual bevel sliding miter saw that takes some of the workload of my tablesaw.

11-29-2011, 12:28 PM

Kingfisher Apiaries

Re: Table saw recommendations

I went through the a similar thing about a year ago. My little saw was not cutting it but I did not have the room or the dough for a big saw. I kinda went down the middle and got a used craftsman cast iron contractors saw thats about 30 years old. Its been an awesome machine. I wish they made something like this still. Nothing in the big box stores is going to really fit the bill...its all cheap.
If you want to get a big table...Biesemeyer Fence all the way. A lot of guys take an old craftsman and take the wings, legs, etc off and mount a Biesemeyer on it. Then you can make a rolling cart for it all to set on. 50" rip capacity. Pretty much the optimal setup.
Mike

11-29-2011, 12:37 PM

jim lyon

Re: Table saw recommendations

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barry

Jim, will this be used for making woodenware? If so, The Grizzly is simply overkill.

Perhaps you are right. Just looking for something rugged enough to stand up to some abuse and can stay accurate without having to constantly use a square to insure that your blade won't bind in the middle of a cut. Fine furniture making? Nope that wouldnt be me.

11-29-2011, 03:46 PM

fish_stix

Re: Table saw recommendations

Mythomane; you can buy those (extension cords) in stores, just not in your big box stores. We use them all the time in the construction business and guess what? We get inspected by OSHA on a regular basis and they have found no fault with them. If you have 220 volt tools on a job site and the power pole is 75-100 feet away how do you suppose you get power to where you need it? :rolleyes: BTW, explain the difference to me of a 30' power cord attached to a 220 v. motor and an extension cord of the same size to feed that motor. And, yes I'm well familiar with the effect of "length" and conductor size on a power source.

Okay that was my shot at finding the best bang for your buck and still keep it semi storable.

Keep in mind you can get rolling stands for the larger saws to help in the keeping it out of the way issue.

That last one looks a lot like what I own. It has problems but only minor irritating ones. A fence that is not all that accurate, the blade insert is flakey, Table top is to small for me but anything less than 4X8 will be and a miter gauge slot that is not standard.

Check out the Jet JPS-30. Great features/great price. Dados on table saws are real finger killers unless you know what your doing, and your setting up to make furniture. Pain in the butt setting them up. For making beekeeping equipment buy a good router and bench, thats really all you need. Then your set up to knock stuff out.

11-30-2011, 07:30 PM

mythomane

Re: Table saw recommendations

Quote:

Originally Posted by fish_stix

Mythomane; you can buy those (extension cords) in stores, just not in your big box stores. We use them all the time in the construction business...

I would like to know where you get these 100 foot 220v power extensions. Please post a link/info. I will buy one just in case I decide to build a house in Florida. Inspectors are mostly failed contractors and its a low bar to begin with. Speaking as a contractor, I have never used 220v from a line like that. The power source is usually from a generator, which is usually what you have when you are building anything fresh, and from which you can get 220 easily. That being said I have had a hand in building hundreds of homes and we never had 220 on site. I do not know any contractor that uses 220 equipment. Cabinet makers, ok, but not men in the field. And cabinet makers do not need or use cords like that. It is just not portable or necessary. I have seen 10k sqft. Mcmansions go up with Ryobi equipment and a crew from Alcatraz. The difference in the line is that it is easily cut/tripped over/exposed etc. I myself could handle it, but is it up to code? Probably not. Then again, maybe things are different in Florida. I worked on a few scrapers there and things were generally out of hand. But again, things are virtually always out of hand on a building site. Please post a link for the cords as it will save me starting up my generator.

I was wondering what everyone thinks of the shopsmith 5 in one? I have a chance to get a verygood used one. for a song(<100.00) I checked it out every thing is there. bearings tight. spindle true. router plane and table flat and clean.

john

11-30-2011, 09:20 PM

deknow

Re: Table saw recommendations

I picked one up last week. I haven't had a chance to put it through its paces yet, but I think it is weakest as a table saw...the other functions don't seem to suffer for being a combo tool. I would not want one as my only tablesaw.
the speed control mechanism is clever. Very well built...better than one would expect for a.combo tool.
Deknow

11-30-2011, 10:32 PM

tedw200

Re: Table saw recommendations

At the shop I use heavy duty equipment. at home I use a RIGID 10" direct drive table saw,
it tilts the right way, has a great locking fence, 110 volt. miter it comes with is great.
its the middle of the road on the light side. It folds for storage and is quite powerful for
the price of 499.00 at H.D.
If you use a good carbide blade, you will love this great table saw.

12-01-2011, 07:28 AM

Daniel Y

Re: Table saw recommendations

Mythomane, I just did a search for those cords but am not coming up with anything from "Common" sources. I do know for a fact they exist. They will give you a hernia trying to lug one around though. they even come in dryer outlet or range outlet configurations (there is a difference in the outlets).

I work for a University and having 220 power is as common as 110. and they go up from there with there power supplies. I see the 220 v cords all over the place. They are not intended for permanent power any more than any other cord. but they do exist and are used on any outlet that has 220 v.

In fact next time you are in the extension cord isle look for the replacement cord ends you will find one style that has one of the prongs sideways. That is a 220v cord end for a regular size extension cord. walk around in some buildings and you will see outlets that allow a regular plug end or one of these sideways ones to fit. plug in a wayside pronged cord and you are hooked up to 220 volts. It is not common for most people to ever need that so most don't even know about it. Not a lot of people own much that requires 220 volts to operate.

12-01-2011, 11:05 AM

mythomane

Re: Table saw recommendations

[QUOTE=Daniel Y;730933

I work for a University and having 220 power is as common as 110.[/QUOTE]

I don't doubt they have power like that at universities. Or factories or such. They have R&D and EXPERIMENTS to conduct. I bet the OSHA guy is not coming around checking the molecular accelerator every day, though. If they did nothing would ever be invented, let alone built. As far as construction, which is what I was talking about -- it is nice to have access like that if you are remodeling and I have a very few times needed access to voltage like that, but for construction purposes it is usually overkill or unnecessary. I have very few portable 220v tools. I have had to plug in a jackhammer to 220v more than once, but it has a very long cord anyway. And let me say I stand corrected on the fact that they do sell them online. Looks like I was wrong. I do not think I will be buying one though (thanks for the link, Barry) as its $400 for the 6/4 cord plus shipping, plus the ends you need. In my defense all you are really buying here is bundled wire. You are making the cord up yourself. Almost every crew I know has cut into an extension or we have had to work in the rain, etc. That is a lot of amps feeding through there. I just can't think of what I would hook up to it that I would need, unless it was Mafell/Euro stuff for a specialized tool. It would be easier just to use the generator which I have around anyway or my step-up transformer. I guess it would be nice to have for a rainy day -- if it wasn't raining.

12-01-2011, 01:53 PM

fish_stix

Re: Table saw recommendations

Mythomane; think welding, 220 volt table saws, pumps, etc, etc, etc, etc,. Ever do any commercial construction? Ever try to build a steel structure without welding? Every temporary power pole we put on a job has 220 available, residential or commercial, and inspected by the building department before they will turn power on. And the vast majority of our inspectors in FL are retired builders, electricians, plumbers, civil engineers. BTW, thank you Barry for the links. I usually just have my electrician provide or make up the extensions and pay him megadollars for them! ;)